Home-made gnocchi are truly delicious and much easier to prepare than you might imagine. However shop-bought, vacuum-packed ones are fine to serve with a simple sauce like this if you’re short of time.

Preparation method

Begin by making the sauce. Place the tomatoes in a small pan, then half fill the can with water and add that to the pan. Stir in the shallot, garlic, herbs, chillies and salt, dash of parmesan and black pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for at least an hour until thickened and dark red.

Meanwhile, to make the gnocchi, boil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes until tender then drain.

Mash them well – this bit is important because lumps will be noticeable in the gnocchi, so use a potato ricer if you have one, or mash the potatoes thoroughly to as smooth a texture as possible.

Sprinkle over the basil, plenty of salt and black pepper and the flour. Using a wooden spoon or your hands, bring together to make a firm dough.

Knead the dough gently for a couple of minutes then roll out into sausages about 1cm (0.5in) thick. Cut the sausages into pieces 2.5cm(1in) long.